2) He suggested I seek out a local craft beer lover and food blogger by the name of Jay Ducote to have as a guest on my podcast.

The rest, as they say, is history.

It's still crazy to think that Charles, along with his partner and all-around handsome fella William McGehee, have been cranking out tasty local craft goodness for five years now, but they have, and that was the reason I was over at the brewery on November 19 for their 5 Year Anniversary Party.

Time, as they say, indeed flies by.

I left Tin Roof a few months ago to work for Jay. I was hired by the brewery to help open and manage their newly built tap room, which turned a year old in October, and then moved into doing sales for the company before leaving to tackle the world of BBQ saucesomeness.

So coming back to the brewery to help celebrate all of their success was a little emotional for me.

After all, I have been a HUGE supporter of Tin Roof since the doors opened, so I feel in some small way that even though I'm no longer working for them, I'm still a part of the family.

As I pulled up to the brewery that evening the parking lot was already crowded. Walking through the doors of the tap room, I saw some of my old co-workers hanging out at the end of the bar. I walked over and said hello and was immediately greeted with hand shakes and hugs.

Tin Roof's Oatmeal Pale Ale, photo courtesy of Tin Roof

After spending a few minutes catching up with everyone, I made my way to the bar and ordered a pint of their newest release brewed specifically for their anniversary event, an Oatmeal Pale Ale. This beer comes in at an easy drinking 5.2% ABV, so having more than a few pints won't have your head spinning. I thought the aroma was very nice with some of the grapefruit and orange notes I was picking up from the cool combo of Mosiac and New Zealand Waimea hops used in brewing. I thought it had a really good nutty flavor with kind of a creamy texture. Overall, a really good beer that reflects the creativity of Tin Roof.

The weather felt incredible, so I ventured outside to soak in the unusually cool Louisiana November evening and to check out the progress on the newly added deck. Besides a few sheets of tin missing from the corner roof (of course it's gotta have a tin roof, duh.) the deck looked incredible and was packed with people enjoying not only the anniversary beer, but all of the other Tin Roof brews like Perfect Tin Amber, Voodoo Bengal Pale, Turnrow Coriander and my personal favorite of the flagship beers, the Juke Joint IPA.

My good friend Jesse Romero was also outside on the new deck slinging delicious pulled pork (covered in Jay D's BBQ Sauce natch) and chicken parmesan sandwiches that everyone, and I do mean everyone, had a plate of.

Looking out onto the sprawling lawn, I saw more plates of food and brews at the picnic tables and games of corn hole in action while beers were being passed between competitors.

This party was off to a great start.

Making my way back inside, I bellied up to the bar, got my girl Emily's attention, and ordered a pint of what is my absolute favorite beer that Tin Roof makes: the winter seasonal Parade Ground Coffee Porter.

Oh, Parade Ground. How I love you so.

This incredible brew, coming in at a sneaky 7% ABV, is a beautiful mix of coffee, mocha, and chocolate flavors that embrace the pallet with all kinds of tasty goodness. It's completely balanced, and a coffee and craft beer lover's BFF. Upon its release, everyone demands this beer become a part of their year-round flagships and be relieved of its seasonal status. At first, I agreed with Charles and William that it should stay a seasonal so it stays highly coveted. But lately I find myself siding with the masses to have this porter become a year-round beer. Sure, it's available in cans, and porters tend to age well, but with Tin Roof not having a dark beer available in its year-round line up, adding Parade Ground or perhaps creating a new porter or stout would keep all the craft beer lovers of dark brews happy.

Whatever the decision, I'll be stocking up for sure just to feed my need for this delicious beer when I get the craving.

After another pint of Parade Ground, it was time to head off to my gig and say my goodbyes to William and a few others (Charles was in Oxford for a Tin Roof event) and make my to the parking lot and into my Jeep.

As I sat there about to pull onto the road, I looked back at the crowd gathered inside and outside the brewery, and I felt a warmness creep through me.

Sure, I'm not an employee there anymore, but before that I was an avid visitor for the Friday night tours, special events, and any other happenings. I've recorded numerous podcast and radio shows at Tin Roof and even organized a Pub Crawl with the help of John Peak for the second year release of Parade Ground, The 3rd Street Coffee Crawl. I guess a small part of me feels like I've always been a part of this company. And I guess a part of me always will.